Side door for railway cars



y 1931. w. E. VAN. DORN 1,813,553

SIDE DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed April 29. 1929 Even/for W17 liaflzl I612 .Doriz .fliiorize Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATIENTOFFICE W LLIAM E. vAN noun, or PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, Assrcnon .TO RAILWAY METAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ELAWARE smn noon FOR RAIL cans.

Application filed April 29,

1. closed position and relates specifically to such doors supported by brackets mounted upon the lower. portion of the side wall and preferably provided with anti-friction rollers, which doors are usually called t bottom m supported doors.

The invention relates specifically to doors which are capable of being moved laterally of the car, that is, toward or away-from the side wall of the car. Such type of door is desirable in stock cars wherein the dirt and other accumulations on the floor freezes to the door, forming cohesion which must be brokenbefore the door can be moved longitudinally of the car, which cohesion I is broken by pulling the door away from the car; So-called flush doors are also desirable in box cars wherein the dooris moved laterally toward the car within a recess so that the outer surface of the door is substantially flush with the outer surface of the side wall-of the car; thus making it easier to;

waterproof the edges of the door and also decreasing air resistance.

The object of the'invention is to provide a so-called bottom supported door with a track having two trends which are preferably disposed angularly to each other so' that one of the treads rests upon the rollers when the door has been moved laterally toward the car and the other of said treads rides upon the rollers when the door has been moved away from the car; to pivot such a double tread track to a door to facilitate the shifting'from one tread to the other; to provide means for raising and /or lo ering a portion of the track to effect the shifting of the load from one tread to the other; to associate the door with certain elements on the car body to restrict the movement of the door longitudi nally of the car when the door has been moved laterally toward the car; to provide a lock (and preferably a seal) associated with the above mentioned mechanism whereby when the door is moved laterally toward the car over the door opening and the mecha- 1929. Serial No. 358,972

nism is locked the door is thereby locked in closedposition; to provide means to retain the track in engagement with the rollers in any lateral and longitudinal'position of the door, or in other words, toretain either of the treads inengagement with the rollers. In the drawings: Fig. ,1 shows a typical application of my device to a railway car. 4 F ig..2 is a section on line 2'2' of Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1. p Fig. 4: is an enlarged detail showing the door moved laterally toward the car.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail showing the door moved laterally away from the. car. a

The usual parts of the car are shown; such as side sill 1; flooring 2; side plate 8; front door post land rear door post 5. The door shown is provided with upper and lower rails 6 and 7 and frontand rear stiles 8 vention is not restricted toqthe use of rollers, as such are only anti-friction means.)

Fig. 4 shows the door when it has been moved laterally toward the car, or in other words, in closed position so that the outer tread 14 engages the roller 18.. :lVhen it is desired to move the door to open position it is first moved laterally into the position shown in Fig. 5, wherein the inner tread 13 engages the rollers. In this position the door may be moved longitudinally of the car into open position. An ordinary handle 20 may be used to move the door laterally one way or the other.

As an ordinary freight car door made of wood and steel combined or steel through out they are quite heavy, therefore apower mechanism may be necessary to move the but door laterally. In Fig. 1 I have shown such mechanism which comprises a hand lever 30 mounted upon the door which operates the rod 31 connected to the outer part of the track by pivot 32 whereby a movement of the handle raises or lowers a portion of the track and shifts the engagement of the track with the rollers from one tread to the other. This mechanism may be positioned in any convenient place on the door. I also preferably associate a lock 33 with this mechanism to lock the door in closed position, which lock and mechanism also prevents the door from being moved away from the car, in which position it may be sealed.

In an ordinary box car 'the door would probably have to be unloaded and moved a few inches longitudinally before it could be moved laterally.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown a modification comprising an inclined surface 35 on the bracket which engages the flange 16 on the track to assure an outer movement of the track and door when a part of the track is moved downwardly; furthermore,-the engagement of the flange 16 with this surface 35 restricts the inward movement of the door toward the car and also the engagement of the flange 15 with the roller 18 restricts the outward movement of the door away from the car, therefore, these two places of engagement constitute means to retain the track in position upon the rollers.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occurto persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, and a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned near the carp w 2. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, an inverted channel shaped track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door ,upon said rollers Within said channel, one of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned near the car. 3. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, and a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly dis- .posed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said treads support ing the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned near the car, the component parts so arranged that the lateral movements of the door shifts the engagement of the track with the rollers from one tread to the other tread.

4. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, a track mounted upon the door'provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car, and the other of said treads'supporting the door when it is positioned near the car.' r

5. In a railway car, the'combination 'of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a doorarranged-to move lateraly toward -.or away fromthe car, a-track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged tosupport the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting the door when it is :positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned near the car, and a mechanism mounted upon the door arranged to raise or lower a portion of the track so as to move the' door laterally. f

6. In a railway car, the combination of'a plurality of rollers mounted upon thecar, a door arranged'to move laterally toward or away from the car, a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said'treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is-positioned near the car, and means to shift-the engagement of the track with the other tread;

7. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned near the car, and means to restrict the movement of the doorlongitudinally of the car when the door has been moved laterally toward the car,

rollers from one treadto the E 8. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to sup ort the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned near the car, a mechanism mounted upon the door arranged to raise or lower a portion of the track so as to move the door laterally, a lock associated with the mechanism, and means to restrict the movement of the door longitudinally of the car when the door has been moved laterally toward the car whereby when the door is in the last mentioned position the locking of the mechanism also locks the door in closed position.

9. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned near the car, and means to retain the track upon the rollers.

10. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads support ing the door when it is positioned near the car, and means to retain the track upon the rollers in either position.

11. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned away from the car and the other of said treads supporting the door when it is positioned near the car, and means restricting the lateral movement of the door.

12. In a railway car, the combination of a plurality of rollers mounted upon the car, a door arranged to move laterally toward or away from the car, a track pivoted to said door provided with angularly disposed treads arranged to support the door upon said rollers, one of said treads supporting 

